Thread-waxing device.



P. L. ALLEY.

THREAD WAXING DEVICE.

APPLICATION IILED JULY 23, 1902.

930, 1 1 5. Patented Aug; 3, 1909.

' ZSEEETS-SHEET 1.

' F. L. ALLEY.

THREAD WAXING DEVICE.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY 2a, 1902.

Patented Aug. 3, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

the waxing chamber.

NITED sra'rnsrairnnrr OFFICE.

FREDERICK LYMAN ALLEY, 0F SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY COMPAH Y, OF IAIERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

THREAD-WAXING DEVICE.

Patented Aug. 3, 1909.

Application filed July 23, 1902. Serial No. 116,673.

To all whom it may concern..-

Be it known that I, FREDERICK L. AL EY, citizen of the United States, residing at Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, have invented cerlain new and useful Improvements in Threadaxing Devices; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to threadwaxing devices for sewing machines and is intended as an improvement on the type of thread-waxing devices disclosed in the patent to Holmes No. 564,883, dated July 28, 1896, and in my prior patent No. 583,968, dated June 8, 1897. a The thread-waxing devices of these patents embody a supply reservoir and a thread-waxing chamber in the form of a tube through which the thread passes and into which the wax flows from the supplyreservoir, only so much of the wax in the supply reservoir being kept in a melted condition as is necessary to supply The advantages of this type of thread-waxing device are well understood by those skilled inthe art and are referred to in the specifications of the patents.

The present invention has for its object to improve the construction and mode of operation of thread-waxing devices of this type with a view to producing a device in which the wax in the waxing chamber and a suflicient amount of wax in the supply reservoir to supply the waxing chamber can be more quickly heated and in which all danger of overheating or burning the wax is avoided.

The present invention also has for its object to provide improved means for stripping the wax from the thread.

Other objects of the invention are in general to improve and simplify the construction of thread-waxing devices and render them more eflicient in operation.

lVith these objects in view, I have provided a thread-waxing device comprising asupply reservoir and a tube through which the thread passes communicating therewith throughout a substantial portion of its length. By this construction the wax in the tube and in the adjacent portions of the reservoir is .quickly melted by heat applied to the tube without melting the greater portion of the wax in the reservoir, the tube is sup plied with wax along a substantial portion of its length so that all danger of the wax in the tube becoming exhausted is avoided, and a circulation of wax between the tube and reservoir is permitted, the wax as it becomes heated escaping into the reservoir, and the cooler wax flowing into the tube to take its place whereby overheating and burning of the wax is prevented.

The improved means for stripping the wax from the thread which I have provided consist of two strippers provided with a thread groove which varies in size mounted so as to be moved by the pull of the thread when a knot or other inequality occurs in thread groove into engagement with the thread and thereby allow the knot or other inequality to pass through the groove. The strippers are held in position by means of a spring and are moved against the tension of the spring whenever a knot or other inequality in the thread passes through the strippers. To adjust the strippers for operation upon different sizes of thread and to compensate for any enlargement of the thread groove on account of wear, means are provided for ad usting the strippers so as to bring that portion of the groove which is of the desired size into engagoi'nent with the thread. My improved means tor stripping the wax from the thread is equally applicable to forms of thread-waxin,g devices other than my improved form herciuhel'orc referred to and accordingly I do not consider this feature of my invention to be limited to use in connection with any particular form of thread-waxing device. 4

In addition to the novel constructions above referred to, my invention also consists in the devices and combinations of devices hereinafter described and claimed, the advantages of which will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

A preferred form of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of a thread-waxingdevice embodying the same, the lower portion of the casing inelosing the. wax tube being broken away; Fig. 2 is a plan giew of the device shown in Fi 1, portions being shown in section on the .ines 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1;- Fig. 4 is a detail plan view illustrating the strippers and their adjusting mechanism; Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is. a face view of one of the strippers; Fig. 7 is a detail view looking in the opposite direction from Fig. 1 showing the adjustin mechanism for the strippers in side elevation, and Fig. 8 is a plan view of the guide for the adjusting rod of the mechanism for adjusting the strippers.

Referrin to the drawings 1 indicates a wax pot w ich as viewed in side elevation is substantially V-shaped. The walls of this pot converge at the ends and bottom of the pot until they are separated by a narrow slot 2 and then diverge and finally meet below the slot, thereby forming the tube 3 extending from one end of the pot to the other beneath the same. The walls of the pot above the tube form a reservoir for supplying the tube with wax and the tube forms a chamber in communication with the reservoir throughout its length through which the thread 4 may be drawn. At the bot tom of the pot the thread t passes under a thread guide 5 which as shown consists of a block provided with a curved lower face secured to or formed \inte ral with the lower end of a rod 6. At the ottom of the ot the walls are thickened and are provi ed with a recess into which the thread'guide-5 fits, the thread guide being provided with flan es 7 on each side WlllCll are received in s ots formed in the sides of-the recess as is clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The upper end of the rod 6 is provided with a groove which is received in a slot formed in a supporting cross-bar 8 which extends transot and is secured at its ends by bolts an winged nuts to cars projecting inward. from the sides of ,the pot. The thread guide 5 is thus rigidly secured in positionbut, can be easily and quickly removed. Since the tube 3 is in communication with the supply reservoir formed bythe walls of the pot throughout its entire length, the thread can be easily I and quickly threaded through the tube by engaging the thread with the lower face of the thread guide and submerging the thread .guide in the pot and securing it in position. The portions of the tube at each end of the pot are substantiallystraight so that by the use .of a single .thread guide 5 the thread is guided through substantially the central ortion of the tube throughout its entire ength. The tube extends at each end above the level of the wax so that no means for closing the ends of the tube to prevent the in the chamber surrounding the tube 3 is i applied directly to the tube and to the adjacent portion of the Walls of the supply reservoir and thus the wax in the tube and the wax in the reservbir in the immediate vicinity of the tube is quickly melted. The wax flows into the tube through the slot 2 and the tube is thus supplied with wax throughout its entire length. In case the wax in the tube becomes overheated it rises through the slot 2 and the cooler wax in the reservoir flows into the tube to take its place and thereby all danger of overheating or burning the wax in the tube is avoided.

The improved strippers for stripping the wax from the thread which I have illustrated in the drawings, consist of two'segmental shaped metal blocks 11 and 12 secured to pivot pins 13 and 14; journaled in the upwardly extending walls of the wax pot at one end of the pot above the delivery end of the tube 3. A groove 15 is formed in the face of each of the blocksll and 12 as is clearly shown in Figs. 5 and 6, each groove gradually increasing in size from the upper to the lower edge of the face of the block. The faces of the blocks are concentric with their pivot pins and roll upon each other, and the bottoms of the slots 15 are eccentric with the pivot pins so that as the blocks 11 and 12 are swung upon their groove on account of wear. Means are also provided for yieldingly holding the blocks in position so that in case aknot or other inequality occurs in the thread the'blocks will be allowed to move in a direction to en large the thread groove and allow the knot or other inequality to pass. As shown in the drawings, the means for adjustm the blocks and for holding them yieldin in position is as follows ':-A se ental s aped block 16 is secured'to each 0 the pivot pins 13 and 14 and is provided with gear teeth with which a worm cut on a rod 17 meshes. This rod is journaled and guided in a bearing in the guiding block 18 secured tothe force of the spring 19 is limited by a flange rod. below the block 18 and is interposed between a shoulder at the lower end of the rod and the under-surface of the block. The movement of the rod 17 under the 20 011 the rod which contacts with the upper surface of the block 18.

By the above-described construction, it will be seen that the position of the blocks 11 and 12 'can be adjusted to increase or diminish the size of the groove through which the thread passes by rotating therod 17 in one direction or the other and that the blocks 11 and 12 are yieldingly held in position by the spring 19 so that they are allowed to move in the direction to increase the size of the thread groove whenever a knot or other inequality passes through the groove.

It is to be understood that the construction illustrated in the drawings and abovedescribed by which a waxing device comprising a reservoir and a'waxing tube 1n communication therewith throughout a substantial portion of its length is produced embodies this feature of my invention in its preferred form only and that while I consider the construction illustrated and described the best embodiment of this feature of my invention which I have been able to devise, as it possesses advantages in sim-.

plicity of construction and certainty and reliability of operation which will be obvious to those skilled in the art from the preceding description, my invention might be otherwise embodied without departure from the spirit thereof. It is also to be understood that while the specific form of strippers which I have illustrated in the drawings and above described embodies this feature of my invention in its preferred form, this feature of my invention is not limited, except as recited in the claims, to the specific construction and arrangement of parts shown.

Having thus indicated the nature and scope of my invention, and having specifically described a preferred embodiment thereof, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States.

1. A thread waxing device, having, in combination, a reservoir, a tube through which the thread passes located outside of, on the sides, and beneath the reservoir and communicating therewith throughout a substantial portion of its length and means for heating the tube to melt the wax in the tube and in the adjacent portions of the reservoir to allow a circulation of wax between the tube and the reservoir, substantially as devoir, a tube through which the threadpasses extending from one. end of the reservoir to the other beneath the same in -the shape of a V and communicating therewith throughout a substantial portion of its length and a removable thread guide located at the bottom of the reservoir, substantially as described.

3. A thread waxing device, comprising a wax pot the walls of which converge at the ends and bottom of the pot until separated by a narrow slot and then diverge and finally meet below the slot to form a tube extending from one end of the pot to the other beneath the same, substantially as described.

4:. A thread waxing device comprising a wax pot, a tube through which the thread passes located outside of, on the sides and beneath the pot, the walls of the pot converging toward thetube and the tube communicating with the pot throughout a substantial portion of its length to allow a circulation of wax between the tube and the reservoir, substantially as described.

5. In a thread waxing device, a pair of segmental, pivotally mounted strippers provided with grooves cotiperating to form a thread groove of varying size, and means for adjusting the strippers to bring the desired portion of the groove into engagement with the thread, substantially as described.

6. In a thread waxing device, a pair of segmental, pivotally. mounted strippers prothread groove of varying size, means for adjusting the strippers to bring the desired portion of the groove into engagement with the thread and means for yieldingly holding the strippers in their adjusted position, substantially as described.

'7. In a thread waxing device, a pair of segmental pivotally mounted strippers provided with groovesmoiiperating to form a thread groove of varying size and means for yieldingly holding the strippers in position, substantially as described.

8. A thread waxing device, comprising a reservoir, and a tube through which the thread passes located outside of, on the sides and beneath the reservoir and communicating therewith through a narrow slot extending throughout a substantial portion of its length, substantially as described.

9. Athread waxing device, comprising a reservoir, a tube through which the thread passes located outside of the reservoir and communicating therewith throughout a substantial portion of its length, and a casing surrounding the tube and forming a heatrng 'chamber therefor, substantially as described.

10. A thread waxing device, comprising a wax pot, a tube through which the thread passes located outside of and beneath the pot and communicating therewith throughout a substantial portion of its length, the walls of the pot converging toward the tube, and the walls Off the tube first diverging and then converging beneath the pot, substantially as described.

11. A thread waxing device, having, in combination, a reservoir, a tube through which the thread passes, extending beneath the reservoir said tube communicating wit-h the reservoir throughout a substantial portion of its length to allow a circulation of wax between the tube and reservoir and extending at each end above the level of the wax, and a casing surrounding the tube and forming the heating chamber therefor, substantially as described.

12. In a thread waxing device a pair of segmental pivotally mounted strippers provided with grooves cotiperating to form a thread groove of varying size, gears connected to the strippers, an adjusting worm meshing with the gears and a spring acting on the worm, substantially as described.

13. A thread waxing device comprising a reservoir provided with an elongated conscribed.

14. A thread Waxing device comprising a reservoir and a tube through which the thread passes located outside of and beneath through a narrow slot extending throughout a substantial portion of its length and a removable thread guide located at the bottom of the reservoir substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature, in presence of two witnesses FREDERICK LYMAN ALLEY.

Witnesses 7 CHARLES EDWARD GRAHAM,

ROBERT CHARLES DEMPSEY.

said contracted portion, substantially as dethe reservoir, and communicating'therewith 

